River-power engine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A.. F. W; NEYNABER. RIVER POWER ENGINE.

No. 398,070. PatentedFeb. 19, 1889.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A. F. W. NEYNABER.

RIVER POWER ENGINE.

No. 398,070. Patented Feb. 19, 1889.

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IlNiTED STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

ADOLPHUS F. IV. NEYNABER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

RIVER-POWER ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 398,070, dated February 19, 1889.

Application filed December 16, 1887- Serial No. 258,081. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ADOLPHUS F. IV. NEY- NABER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit city, in the county of WVayne and State of l\[ichigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in River-Power Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the construction of a machine to be driven by the power of the flowing water of a river, channel, or any flowing water, especially in all such cases where a dam or weir cannot be constructed, so that not even a few inches fall of water can be given to an undershot wheel. I attain this object by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the entire machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of the machine. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of crank E withanti-friction rollers connected with rods 4.

Similar letters and figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The frame-work A, Fig. 1, represents a structure with heavy beams B, to which are attached hangers O, in which turns the shaft D with three cranks, E, E and E These cranks are provided with anti-friction rollers, are connected with rods 4 at a, and by means of rods 4 to the three double swings F F at (1, Fig. 2. The cranks move also the levers G, H, and I, connected by rods 5, 6, and 7 and support M to paddles K in hangers L. Hanger L is a frame, to which on its lower two ends any number of paddles can be attached by means of hinges, hooks, or pins. The upper part of L has two arms braced to the lower parts and otherwise strengthened by cross-bars and bolts at the upper part, which will remain above the water-surface, so that the two lower ends have sufficient strength to bear the force of the water when the paddles, resting against the lower ends of L, form a plane perpendicular surface. The upper two arms, which are in right angles with the lower ends, are hung at four points to the lower ends of a double swing, F F.

A double swing consists of four pieces of timber or metal hung to beams B B, so that they will swing in straight line with beams B, and, being connected to beams B at equal distances, they will also swing parallel, and being at their lower ends connected with hangers L, so that all four ends of the swings are bolted or pinned at equal or right lengths and widths corresponding with the points of attachment to beams B, the double swing will, when swinging, always resemble a parallelogram, and thus the hangers L will be kept always in perpendicular position.

The paddles joined on one side to hangers L are connected at their other sides in the same manner with support M. Wherever the paddles K strike the lower ends of L or support M they may have a packing of rubber or other material to lessen the concussion; or those parts of L and M may have such packing. Support M is a bar connected at its lower extreme end with rods 6 and at the upper extreme end with rope or chain 7 to lever I. Lever I is of such length and hung at such a point that by its moving toward the shaft D it will keep the paddles K K in nearlyhorizontal positions, so that the paddles will be moved against the stream or flow of water parallel with the water, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2. In this latter movement the weight of the swings, hangers, and paddles will assist in bringing back the paddles; but this back movementwill be guided altogether by the connecting-rod 4 and lever G, which will regulate this back movement of the paddles according to the revolving of shaft D. The lever G rests 011 pins 8 in support J, con nected by rods 9 to lever H.

The pins 8 can be provided with anti-friction rollers. The swings F move in guides When paddles K, connected with support M and rods 7, 6, and 5, are in the position shown in Fig. 1, they form a perpendicular plane surface, and when acted upon by a current of water will move in the direction the water flows until lever I arrives at the bar N, Fig. 2. The further motion of lever I being stopped by bar N, the force of the current of water will cause the paddles to open. To avoid a too strong strain on lever I, rods 6 and 7 7, support M, paddles K, and hangers L, the

bar 0 is so placed that the hangers L will rest against it as soon as the paddles have opened.

The described movement of the paddles has caused crank E to move from c to (I, and has turned the shaftD to the extent of one-half of its revolution, Fig. Two more cranks being in operation, moved by similar paddles, as described, and assisting in the turning of the shaft, crank E is carried now by the turning of shaft 1) from (Z to c. This latter movement of the crank E, assisted by the weight of hanger L, swing F F, and levers I and II, has caused lever I to pull the open paddles K along, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. As soon as crank E leaves the heck of lever G, the impulse of the water closes the paddles K, to form again a perpendicular plane surface, floating as described above.

Rods ti and 7 are attached to lover I after the right position for the fulcrum of I has been determined. The movement of levers II and I can be regulated by adjusting connecting-rods 5 and E) lower or higher. By the reciprocatin g motion of the three double swings F F the shaft 1) will revolve continuously, because the power of the flowing water acts always fully on one of the three swings while one is falling back, and the third one receives always so much of the power of the water as to assist the other two to get over the deadpoint. These three swings form, in reality, three sections of a wheel, each section being so arranged as to always expose a perpendicular plane surface to the action of the flowing water until it reaches a certain point, when the paddles open and the section falls back to the point where the paddles close again to form a perpendicular plane surface for the water to act upon.

\Vhere the difference of theheight of water in a river, brook, channel, &c., would interfere more or,less with the working of an undershot wheel, it will. not interfere with these swings as long as they are so deep under the surface of the water that none of the paddles will get above the water-level when the water is at the lowest point.

The swin can also be attached in succes sion of each other instead of being attached in one line to one revolving shaft. Each swing can be attached to a special revolving shaft and all three shafts be connected with each other by means of cranks and rods, chainwheels, or other mechanical arrangements, and thus enable the machine to be put up and worked in narrow channels, brooks, creeks, (he.

The motion of the machine can be stopped temporarily by the interposition of a bar to one of the three swings. In case the machine is to be stopped permanently the three double connecting-rodslet can be lifted up on their ends at a through the slot, and thereby the whole machine be set at rest.

A fly-wheel can be attached either directly to the shaft I or be connected with the shaft in such a way that the fly-wheel will run with a greater velocity.

All parts of the machine can be made of wood and metal combined, or of metal altogether, with rubber packing at certain parts.

Light machinesfor pumping water for household use or for performing other light work may be connected with one paddle only to each swing, and for larger machines any number of paddles of any desired length can be attached. In the latter case there should be more hangers Ii attached to each swing, so

as to support the paddles in bearing the heavy pressure of the water.

For very small machines paddles of six inches in width maybe suflicient. For larger ones paddles as wide as twenty-four inches may be found to be the most practical ones. These paddles act somewhat like valves, and the narrower a paddle the easier and quicker it will open and close, and therefore long narrow paddles will work best, forming, when closed, according to their number and length, a larger or smaller surface to resist the current of water. The specific gravity of the paddles, when connected with support M, should be a little greater than that of the water. It should be slightly heavier, so as to give to the paddles a tendency to close downward.

Great power may thus be obtained from rivers or other flowing waters in cases where no dams can be built, or where the expenses of building a dam would be too great.

As before stated, therising or falling of the water-level will not aifect the working of this machine as long as the paddles will dip deep enough into the water at its lowest level-that is to say, the difference in the working of this machine will be not any more than the difference in the velocity of the flowing water will be, whereas an under-shot wheel will perform less work if the level of the water dilfers from that at which the un' dershot wheel has been calculated to work. At a lower level the paddles of the undershot wheel will not dip deep enough, and at a higher level they will dip too deep below the water-level. If the paddles of an undershot wheel are too deep below the level, the backwater on the paddles will lessen the power of the wheel, so that if submerged to its axis the undershot wheel will stand still.

'What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a river-power engine, the combination, with the swinging frames F and L and the blades K and connecting-bar M, of a swinging arm, I, conn ections between said arm and the bar M, and connections between a motor-shaft and the swinging frames F, whereby a plane perpendicular surface is presented by the blades to receive the impulse of the current on the downstream movement of the said swinging frames, and the blades are feathered, so to nesent only their edges to the current on the upstream movement thereof, substantially as described. 7

2. In a river-power engine, the combination, with the swinging frames F and Lfthe 5 blades K, and connecting-bar M, of the swinging arms I, H, and J, connecting-rods 6 and 7 between said arms I and the bar M, the bar 5, eonneeting' arms I and H, the bar G, connecting arms I and J, and pitman 4, connecting the swing-frames F with a motor-shaft, all s ub- I o stantially as described and set forth.

A. F. W. NEYNABER.

Witnesses:

ANNIE LADD, NETTIE LADD. 

